Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV | Art by Andy Kubert, John Romita | Published by DC Comics

Dark Days: The Forge #1 is a glorified zero issue that lays major groundwork for the upcoming Metal event that will be impacting nearly all DC comics this upcoming summer. Much is revealed in this issue that will have many fans asking some major questions. The issue, however, is if you are not very familiar with DC lore prior to The New 52 you may be left confused by nearly everything this is showcased in this book. Clearly, something major is going on and this is the very beginning. For some it may be a better choice just to wait until it gets fully started.

Long lasting DC fans that have loved stories like Crisison Infinite Earths and even The Dark Knight Strikes Again will certainly have a lot to be excited about. Characters that have been forgotten about for nearly decades now appear to be coming back in a major way. This is the type of book that will lead many to jump onto social media or other platforms searching for additional clues and easter eggs.

Dark Days: The Forge #1 is made up of a series of short stories that give a small glimpse and hint of what is to come. Much of that mystery is surrounding the properties of Nth metal and how its impact on the universe is much more far reaching that initially understood. Batman has apparently been searching for answers to this mysterious unbeknownst to his closest allies. He has gotten too close to answers causing forces to unite and strike back against him.

So what you are left with are a bunch of small pieces to a very large puzzle. This puzzle does not even have a picture on the box to refer. Isolated this issue is all about potential. If the sole purpose is to create excitement it works, however with the caveat that you have an understanding of past DC continuity that was supposedly wiped away. In addition, it is not the most satisfying way to read a comic when you are basically given what is a series of trailers to stories you cannot read for a couple of months. There is a fine line between creating excitement and creating frustration. This somehow ends up accomplishing both.